The two passengers who boarded missing MH370 flight were not “Asian-looking” but resembled Italian footballer Mario Balotelli, the country’s civil aviation chief said during a press conference.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told journalists that CCTV footage revealed what the two suspect passengers looked like, before referring to the famed footballer.
His statement prompted laughter, but has also sparked anger on social media.
V. Distasteful moment in #Malaysia crash press briefing-stolen passport holders not Asian looking,but ‘like Balotelli’; media all laughing.
— Brendan May (@bmay) March 10, 2014
I’m pretty sure Balotelli doesn’t appreciate the comparison.
— Sebastian Su (@Sebastian_su) March 10, 2014
A reporter had asked Rahman to say “roughly” what the two men looked like and he replied, “Do you know a footballer by the name of Balotelli?”.
Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the Inspector General of Police Tan, added that one man had been identified through CCTV footage.
“I can confirm that he is not a Malaysian, but cannot divulge which country he is from yet,” he said.
He added that the man was not from China and there was no verification of a Chinese militant group claiming responsibility for the missing plane.
Earlier, it was revealed that five people who checked in but failed to board the Malaysia Airlines flight are now under investigation by intelligence agencies.
According to the airline, the five never boarded the flight, but their baggage were removed.
The two men using the stolen passports are said to have booked flights onwards to Amsterdam, which means they did not need Chinese visas and avoided the additional scrutiny that comes from visa application.
So far, efforts proved fruitless but authorities said they have intensified the search and personnel from at least nine countries are currently working hard to obtain answers on what happened to the ill-fated flight that vanished on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. The search area is also now widened across Hong Kong and Sumatra.
Additionally, the oil slicks found off the coast of Malaysia were not caused by the missing jet. It is also reported that the salvaged object resembling a possible life raft from the missing plane is merely a moss-covered cap of a cable reel.
For more updates on flight MH370, keep watch on our site.
[Source]
